Alexander Graham Bell1847 – 1922.
Inventor of the metal detector, the telephone, and the photophone – the first device to carry the human voice using light.

Daniel Bernoulli1700 – 1782.
Discovered the Bernoulli Effect explaining how aircraft wings generate lift; formulated a kinetic theory relating particle speeds in gases to temperature; made major discoveries in the theory of risk.

Elizabeth Blackwell1821 – 1910.
The first woman to qualify as a physician in America; founder of America’s first medical school for women.

Niels Bohr1885 – 1962.
Founded quantum mechanics when he remodeled the atom so electrons occupied ‘allowed’ orbits around the nucleus while all other orbits were forbidden; architect of the Copenhagen interpretation of quantum mechanics.

S. N. Bose1894 – 1974.
Founded quantum statistics with an alternative derivation of Planck’s radiation law based on the idea that light photons of the same color are indistinguishable from one another – particles such as this are known as bosons.

Robert Boyle1627 – 1691.
Transformed chemistry from a field bogged down in alchemy and mysticism into one based on measurement. He defined elements, compounds, and mixtures; and he discovered the first gas law – Boyle’s Law.

Tycho Brahe1546 – 1601.
Produced the best star catalog that had ever been compiled and measured the orbit of Mars with unprecedented accuracy, paving the way for Kepler’s laws of planetary motion and Newton’s law of gravity.

Brahmagupta597 – 668.
Established zero as a number and defined its mathematical properties; discovered the formula for solving quadratic equations.

Santiago Ramón y Cajal1852 – 1934.
Founder of modern neuroscience: proved the neuron doctrine, which says that neurons behave as biochemically distinct cells rather than a network of interlinked cells.

Rachel Carson1907 – 1964.
A founder of 20th century environmentalism, her book Silent Spring led to a reappraisal of the effect of chemicals such as DDT on the environment, leading to bans and heavy restrictions.

James Chadwick1891 – 1974.
Discovered the neutron and led the British scientists who worked on the Manhattan Project.

Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar1910 – 1995.
Discovered that massive stars can collapse under their own gravity to reach infinite density. Today we call these collapsed stars black holes.

Erwin Chargaff1905 – 2002.
Chargaff’s rules paved the way to the discovery of DNA’s structure.

Nicolaus Copernicus1473 to 1543.
Started the scientific revolution with his book The Revolutions of the Celestial Spheres, explaining his belief that the solar system is centered on the sun, not on the earth.

Francis Crick1916 – 2004.
Codiscovered DNA’s structure and replication mechanism; established the Sequence Hypothesis and the Central Dogma; discovered that DNA uses a triplet code to control the formation of proteins from amino acids.

Marie Curie1867 – 1934.
Codiscovered the chemical elements radium and polonium; made numerous pioneering contributions to the study of radioactive elements; carried out the first research into the treatment of tumors with radiation.

D

John Dalton1766 – 1844.
Dalton’s Atomic Theory is the basis of chemistry; discovered Gay-Lussac’s Law relating gases’ temperature, volume, and pressure; discovered the law of partial gas pressures.

Charles Darwin1809 – 1882.
Authored one of the most famous books in history, On the Origin of Species, in which he described and provided evidence for the theory of evolution by natural selection.

René Descartes1596 – 1650.
One of the greatest philosophers of all time; advocate of skepticism in the scientific method; creator of new mathematical ideas including the independent founding of analytical geometry. Cartesian coordinates are named in his honor.

Albert Einstein1879 – 1955.
Einstein’s theories of special & general relativity delivered a remarkable transformation in our understanding of light, gravity, and time, while special relativity yielded the most famous equation in history, E = mc2. Einstein explained the photoelectric effect and provided powerful evidence that atoms and molecules actually exist.

Empedoclesc. 490 BC – c 430 BC.
An ancient theory of natural selection; mass conservation; and the theory of four elements now often misattributed to Aristotle.

Eratosthenesc. 276 BC – c. 194 BC.
Accurately calculated Earth’s size 2,500 years ago; founded the science of geography; and devised the famous prime number sieve.

F

Michael Faraday1791 – 1867.
Discovered electromagnetic induction; devised Faraday’s laws of electrolysis; discovered the first experimental link between light and magnetism; carried out the first room-temperature liquefaction of a gas; discovered benzene.

Pierre de Fermat1607 – 1665.
One of the greatest mathematicians of all time: co-founded the disciplines of analytic geometry and probability theory and was a key player in the invention of calculus. There’s more to Fermat than his famous last theorem.

Fibonaccic. 1170 – c. 1245.
The rebirth of Western mathematics: Fibonacci’s Book of Calculation introduced the Indian number system, now used worldwide, to Europe.

Ronald Fisher1890 – 1962.
Invented experimental design; devised the statistical concept of variance; unified evolution by natural selection with Mendel’s rules of inheritance defining the new field of population genetics.

Alexander Fleming1881 – 1955.
Discovered that treating wounds and infections with antiseptic agents caused more deaths than if no action was taken. Discovered penicillin and predicted the rise of antibiotic resistant bacteria.

Benjamin Franklin1881 – 1955.
A founding father of the USA, Franklin shaped our understanding of electricity, coined the electrical terms positive and negative, and invented the lightning rod and bifocal spectacles.

Rosalind Franklin1920 – 1958.
Provided much of the experimental data used to establish the structure of DNA. Discovered that DNA can exist in two forms. Established that coal acts as a molecular sieve.

G

Galen129 – c. 216
Began his practice as a physician to gladiators and established a link between diet and health. Galen created a flawed doctrine that dominated Western and Arab medicine for 1,500 years.

Galileo Galilei1564 – 1642.
The father of modern science, Galileo discovered the first moons ever known to orbit another planet and that the Milky Way is made of stars. He rationalized how objects are affected by gravity, stated the principle of inertia, and proposed the first theory of relativity.

Carl Friedrich Gauss1777 – 1855.
The last master of all mathematics, Gauss revolutionized number theory and invented the method of least squares and the fast Fourier transform. His profound contributions to the physical sciences include Gauss’s Law & Gauss’s Law for Magnetism.

Willard Gibbs1839 – 1903.
Gibbs invented vector analysis and founded the sciences of modern statistical mechanics and chemical thermodynamics.

Jane GoodallBorn 1934.
Ground breaking discoveries in chimpanzee behavior; established that chimpanzees have similar social behavior to humans and also that they make tools, and eat and hunt for meat.

H

William Harvey1578 to 1657.
Explained blood circulation for the first time, showing there is a complete circuit beginning and ending in the heart.

Joseph Henry1797 – 1878.
Built the world’s most powerful electromagnets; discovered electromagnetic induction independently of Faraday; made scientific breakthroughs that allowed Samuel Morse to invent the telegraph. The unit of electrical inductance is named in his honor.

Heinrich Hertz1857 – 1894.
Discovered radio waves, proving James Clerk Maxwell’s theory of electromagnetism; discovered the photoelectric effect, providing a clue to the existence of the quantum world. The unit of frequency is named in his honor.

David Hilbert1862 – 1943.
Famed for his 23 problems, Hilbert propelled mathematics to new heights. He replaced Euclid’s axioms dating from 2,000 years earlier, allowing the unification of 2D and 3D geometry; he created Hilbert Space, now essential in advanced physical science.

Hipparchusc. 190 BC – c. 120 BC.
One of antiquity’s greatest scientists: founded the mathematical discipline of trigonometry; measured the earth-moon distance accurately; discovered the precession of the equinoxes; documented the positions and magnitudes of over 850 stars; his combinatorics work was unequalled until 1870.

Robert Hooke1635 – 1703.
Discovered cells and wrote one of the most significant books in scientific history, Micrographia, revealing the microscopic world for the first time; discovered Hooke’s Law in physics; invented the balance spring enabling pocket watches to be made.

Grace Hopper1906 – 1992.
Pioneer of electronic computers. Invented the first compiler and was the principal architect of COBOL, the most widely used computer language of the twentieth century.

Jack HornerBorn 1946.
Popularizer of science: discovered that dinosaurs cared for their young and some nested in colonies. Working on reactivating dormant dinosaur DNA to hatch a modern-day dinosaur.

James Hutton1726 – 1797.
Founded modern geology when he discovered how to interpret rocks. Found our planet is very much older than previously believed and devised the principle of uniformitarianism, which says that our world was shaped by natural processes such as erosion and deposition.

I

J

Irene Joliot-Curie1897 – 1956.
Codiscovered how to convert stable chemical elements into ‘designer’ radioactive elements; these have saved millions of lives and are used in tens of millions of medical procedures every year.

K

Michio KakuBorn 1947.
Popularizer of science, futurist, and a founder of string field theory.

Omar Khayyam1048 – 1131.
A poet, philosopher and scientist, Khayyam calculated the length of a year to the most accurate value ever, and showed how the intersections of conic sections can be utilized to yield geometric solutions of cubic equations.

Johannes Kepler1571 to 1630.
Discovered the solar system’s planets follow elliptical paths; showed that tides on the earth are caused mainly by the moon; proved how logarithms work; discovered the inverse square law of light intensity; his laws of planetary motion led Newton to his law of gravitation.

Antoine Lavoisier1743 – 1794.
A founder of modern chemistry; discovered oxygen’s role in combustion and respiration; discovered that water is a compound of hydrogen and oxygen; proved that diamond and charcoal are different forms of the same element, which he named carbon.

Antonie van Leeuwenhoek1632 – 1723.
The father of microbiology, he used remarkable self-made lenses to discover single-celled animals and plants, bacteria, and spermatozoa.

Inge Lehmann1888 – 1993.
Analyzed earthquake waves to discovered that within our planet’s liquid core, at the very center of the earth, there is a solid core whose diameter is greater than 1,000 km.

Carolus Linnaeus1707 – 1778.
Organized our view of the natural world with the two-part naming system we use to classify all lifeforms; named and classified about 13,000 lifeforms; broke with tradition by classifying humans in the same way as other lifeforms.

Ada Lovelace1815 – 1852.
The mother of computing science; contributed to the first published computer program; was the first person to see that computers could do more than mathematical calculations, recognizing that musical notes and letters of the alphabet could be turned into numbers for manipulation by computers.

M

Jane Marcet1769 – 1858.
Author of Conversations on Chemistry, a unique textbook for its time written for people with little formal education, such as girls and the poor. The book inspired Michael Faraday to overcome his poor origins to become a great scientist.

James Clerk Maxwell1831 – 1879.
Transformed our understanding of nature: his famous equations unified the forces of electricity and magnetism, indicating that light is an electromagnetic wave. His kinetic theory established that temperature is entirely dependent on the movement of particles.

Barbara McClintock1902 – 1992.
Groundbreaking genetics: showed that genes switch the physical traits of an organism on or off; discovered chromosomal crossover, which increases genetic variation in species; discovered transposition – that genes can move about within chromosomes.

Gregor Mendel1822 – 1884.
Founded the science of genetics; identified many of the rules of heredity; identified recessive and dominant traits, and that traits are passed from parents to offspring in a mathematically predictable way.

Dmitri Mendeleev1834 – 1907.
Discovered the periodic table in a dream. Utilized the organizing principles of the periodic table to correctly predict the existence and properties of six new chemical elements.

Henry Moseley1887 – 1915.
Proved that every element’s identity is uniquely determined by its number of protons establishing the true organizing principle of the periodic table; correctly predicted the existence of four new chemical elements; invented the atomic battery.

N

Isaac Newton1643 to 1727.
Profoundly changed our understanding of nature with his law of universal gravitation and his laws of motion; invented calculus, the field of mathematics that dominates the physical sciences; generalized the binomial theorem; built the first ever reflecting telescope; showed sunlight is made of all the colors of the rainbow.

Florence Nightingale1820 – 1910.
A health pioneer who transformed nursing into a respected, highly trained profession; used statistics to analyze wider health outcomes; advocated sanitary reforms largely credited with adding 20 years to life expectancy between 1871 and 1935.

Emmy Noether1882 – 1935.
Probably the greatest female mathematician in history, Noether’s theorem revealed a fundamental property of our universe – that for every conservation law there is an invariant. Her founding work in abstract algebra revolutionized mathematics.

O

Hans Christian Oersted1777 – 1851.
Discovered electromagnetism when he found that electric current caused a nearby magnetic needle to move; discovered piperine and achieved the first isolation of the element aluminum.

P

Louis Pasteur1822 – 1895.
The father of modern microbiology; transformed chemistry and biology with his discovery of mirror-image molecules; discovered anaerobic bacteria; established the germ theory of disease; invented food preservation by pasteurization.

Marguerite Perey1909 – 1975.
Discovered francium, the last ever chemical element found naturally. All elements since have been produced artificially.

Max Planck1858 – 1947.
Founded quantum theory with his proposal that hot objects radiate only certain allowed values of energy, all of which are multiples of a number now called the Planck constant – all other values of energy are forbidden.

Karl Popper1902 – 1994.
Karl Popper changed the way we think about science, showing that scientific theories could only be tested by falsification. His hypothetico-deductive model of the scientific method has largely replaced the older deductive and inductive models.

Pythagorasc. 570 BC – 497 BC.
The Pythagoreans believed the universe was constructed using mathematics and everything can be described with numbers; established a link between mathematics and music; proved Pythagoras’s theorem; discovered irrational numbers; discovered the Platonic Solids.

Q

R

C. V. Raman1888 – 1970.
Discovered that light can donate a small amount of energy to a molecule, changing the light’s color and causing the molecule to vibrate. The color change acts as a ‘fingerprint’ for the molecule that can be used to identify molecules and detect diseases such as cancer.

Srinivasa Ramanujan1887 – 1920.
A largely self-taught pure mathematician, he enriched number theory with thousands of new identities, equations and theorems.

Ernest Rutherford1871 – 1937.
The father of nuclear chemistry and nuclear physics; discovered and named the atomic nucleus, the proton, the alpha particle, and the beta particle; discovered the concept of nuclear half-lives; achieved the first laboratory transformation of one element into another.

S

Theodor Schwann1810 – 1882.
Established that the cell is the basic unit of all living things; his classification of cells is the foundation of modern histology; discovered the enzyme pepsin; identified the role microorganisms play in alcohol fermentation.

Glenn Seaborg1912 to 1999.
Took part in the discovery of ten of the periodic table’s chemical elements. His work on the electronic structure of elements led to the periodic table being rewritten.

Gene Shoemaker1928 to 1997.
The first astrogeologist and a founder of planetary impact science; proved large craters on Earth were caused by collisions with asteroids and comets rather than volcanic activity; proposed microscopic life could travel between planets on rocks blasted into space by asteroid impacts.

B. F. Skinner1904 – 1990.
The 20th century’s most influential psychologist; pioneered the science of behaviorism; discovered the power of positive reinforcement in learning; designed the first psychological experiments producing quantitatively repeatable results.

Nettie Stevens1861 – 1912.
Discovered that an organism’s sex is determined by its chromosomes, now known as the XY sex-determination system – the discovery was the first time a link was demonstrated between a physical characteristic and chromosome differences.

T

Thales of Miletusc. 624 BC – c. 546 BC
The first scientist in history, Thales looked for patterns in nature to explain the way the world worked. He replaced superstitions with science. He was the first person to use deductive logic to find new results in geometry.

J. J. Thomson1856 – 1940.
Discovered the electron; invented one of the most powerful tools in analytical chemistry – the mass spectrometer; obtained the first evidence for isotopes of stable elements.

Andreas Vesalius1514 – 1564.
Founded modern anatomy, overthrowing misconceptions about the body that had persisted for over a thousand years.

Rudolf Virchow1821 – 1902.
A founder of both pathology and social medicine, Virchow correctly identified that diseases are caused by malfunctioning cells. He named leukemia and was the first to catalog and name conditions such embolism, thrombosis, chordoma, and ochronosis.

Alessandro Volta1745 – 1827.
Pioneer of electrical science; invented the electric battery; wrote the first electromotive series; isolated methane for the first time; discovered a methane-air mixture could be exploded using an electric spark – the basis of the internal combustion engine.

W

Alfred R. Wallace1823 – 1913.
Independently formulated the theory of evolution by natural selection; was one of the first biologists to express concern about the effects human activities were having on the natural world.

Alfred Wegener1880 – 1930.
Discovered continental drift, proposing that our planet once consisted of ocean surrounding a single great continent he called Pangea that had split apart over many millions of years to form the continents we see today.

Sergei Winogradsky1856 – 1953.
Founded microbial ecology; discovered chemosynthetic life forms which obtain energy from chemical reactions rather than from sunlight; discovered nitrogen-fixing bacteria in soil that make nitrates available to green plants.

X

Y

Chen-Ning YangBorn 1922.
Thought the unthinkable, discovering that parity is not conserved; Yang-Mills theory is at the heart of the Standard Model in physics.

X

Y

Z

Student of Plato and a tutor to Alexander the Great, Aristotle was a genius Greek philosopher and scientist of the ancient age. Born on 384 BC Aristotle was a biologist, a zoologist, ethicist, a political scientist and the master of rhetoric and logic. He also gave theories in physics and meta physics.

Aristotle gained knowledge in different fields with his expansive mind and prodigious writings. However, only a fraction of his writings are preserved at present. Aristotle made collections to the plant and animal specimens and classified them according to their characteristics which made an standard for future work. He further gave theories on the philosophy of science.

Aristotle also elaborated and estimated the size of earth which Plato assumed to be globe. Aristotle explained the chain of life through his study in flora and fauna where it turned from simple to more complex.

9. Archimedes (287-212 BC)

Regarded as the greatest mathematician ever, Archimedes developed profound and influential knowledge on mathematical physics and engineering that are widely used in machines as well as in constructions. Born on 287 BC, Archimedes is one of the finest scientist who broke through in both theories and practice.

He introduced infinitesimals and laid the foundation for calculus. He gave descriptions on the first finite geometric progression, computed areas and volumes of sphere and parabolic segments.

He also discovered the laws of lever, density, fluid equilibrium, buoyancy in different fields statics and hydrostatics. He is regarded as the prophet to the formal science that was started in Ancient Greece.

“Give me a place to stand and I can move the whole world”, he said and we can still fill the impact of his generosity even today. All other scientists after him stand on his shoulders. Even though most of his work were burned in the museum of Alexandria, the remnants gave enough ideas for modern day science and technology.

8. Galileo Galilei (1564-1642 AD)

Born in Pisa, Italy in 1564, Galileo is called as the father of modern science because of his discoveries in astronomy and physics.

He was sent to study medicine by his father, but he chose his career in science and mathematics and made the first telescope to observe stars and planets.

He also discovered the law of pendulum as he watched a chandelier swing in the cathedral of Pisa. He also discovered that the surface of moon was not smooth but contained burrows and holes to what he called crater.

Galileo discovered 4 revolving moons around Jupiter which are named after him. He proved what Copernicus said about sun being the center of the solar system. Galileo became blind in his old days and died in the year 1642.

7. Michael Faraday (1791-1867 AD)

Born on 1791, British citizen Michael Faraday was a son of a blacksmith who had to leave school in the fourth grade.It started working as a bookbinder and taught himself to read and writer. He developed a fascination with science and particularly in electricity after he studied lot of serious academic works during his days.

Faraday is specially known for his discoveries of electromagnetic inductions and rotations, field theory, dia-magnetization and the magneto-optical effect. This humble genius invented the electric motor and Faraday’s ring.

Faraday’s inquisitive and curious nature made him take chemistry lectures and taught at the Royal Institution as a lecturer later when Humphry Davy retired.

Faraday also published research papers optical deceptions, condensation of gases and isolation of benzene from gas oils. He also wrote books on ”Experimental Researches in Electricity” and the “Chemical history of the Candle”. Faraday died on 1867.

6. Thomas Alva Edison (1847-1931 AD)

“The Wizard of the Menlo Park” nicknamed Thomas Alva Edison was born in 1847. Excelled as both scientist and inventor, Edison patented a whopping total of 1,093 inventions in his life time. Most of the inventions that came from Edison are batteries, phonographs, cement, mining, telegraphs, lights and powers.

He also improved the telephone made by Graham Bell and invented the kinetoscope that was used for viewing moving films. He was seen working almost more than 20 hours a day.

Edison masterminded the digital voting system with his electro-graphic vote recorder for the legislative of the parliament. He also proposed ideas on preserving fruits by keeping it in vacuum. Edison pioneered the idea for storage batteries that was later used by Henry ford in his automobile.

“Genius is one percent inspiration and 99 percent perspiration” is one of the most famous quote by this genius. He died in the year 1931.

5. Marie Curie Sklodowska (1867-1934 AD)

Marie Curie holds record for the first female to be awarded with a Nobel Prize. Inventor and scientist Curie was born as the youngest of five children in the year 1867 in Warsaw, Poland.

Marie Curie has always remained a source of inspiration and motivation for different female scientists because of her determination to work. She invented the first mobile X-ray machine which helped to check the injured soldiers in the battlefield.

Radium is another great invention from her. Curie experimented different elements to check their radio activity and found thorium. She also invented the pitch-blend which was the source of radiation in a mixture more powerful than uranium or thorium. She is also called ”the mother of atom bomb” with her invention of the radio active materials.

However, with all her brilliance, hard work and patience in careful experiments she performed, her own invention killed her because of radiation poisoning in 1934.

4. Louis Pasteur (1822-1895 AD)

Louis Pasteur made astounding contributions in the field of science, technology and medicine. This genius was born on 1822 and spent his life working in chemistry and microbiology.

Pasteur was the first ever scientist to study about fermentation in food elements that was caused by microbes. He also explained about biogenesis and proposed a theory named as the “Germ Theory”. He also created a process of toning and treating milk free from the damage causing microbes to what he called ”Pasteurization”.

Pasteur is also regarded as the first man on earth to ever discover cure for puerperal fever and make the vaccines for rabies and anthrax. He also explained the asymmetry in various crystals on a molecular basis.

His breadth of accomplishment and approaches in different fields of discoveries and inventions makes him a giant genius. He died in 1895.

3. Sir Isaac Newton (1643-1727 AD)

Born on 1643 in Woolsthrope, England, Sir Issac Newton is best known for his law on gravitation. He was a poor student at school or at running the family estate. However, he loved making mechanical toys and models of windmills.

Newton explained the theory of gravity and gravitation by inventing calculus as no other principles could explain it. The new revolution in mathematics, calculus was derived from his binomial theorem to infinite series which accurately could measure the area inside the curve or rate of change of it.

He also explained the theory on tides which occurred due to the gravitation pull from the sun, moon and earth.

He also invented the reflecting telescope. Newtons laws can be found in different areas of mechanics, optics and chemistry. He was knighted with the title Sir by Queen Anne in 1705. Newton died at the age of 84, in 1727.

2. Albert Einstein (1879-1955 AD)

Born on 1879 in Ulm, Einstein is considered as one of the greatest revolutionary scientist the world has ever known.

The “Man of Century” has some spectacular works in physics which even makes him the father of modern physics for his contribution in developing the general theory of relativity. The world’s most famous equation E=mc2 on which the bomb is based comes from his theory.

One of the greatest scientist of the 20th century, Einstein’s Special theory of relativity revolutionized physics which even challenged the scientists at CERN. Albert Einstein’s genius mind for the scientific advancement cause immeasurable change to the world. Together with his intellect, he was also a celebrity with his flirtatious behavior that could impress any women.

This rare genius was awarded Nobel Prize in 1921 ”For his work on theortical physics, and for his discovery of the photoelectric effect”. Greatest physicist ever voted Einstein died on 1955 in Princeton.

1. Nikola Tesla (1856-1943 AD)

This Serbian born scientist atop the list because of his immense knowledge in different fields of science and technology.

Without a question, this 1856 born guy was a cool geek. He could speak 8 languages, recite a whole book completely just with one reading, make a device just by seeing it once and not writing down anything. A funny fact about him was that he was a celibate his whole life.

Tesla had developed almost everything by himself and did not expose any of it which later was invented by other scientists in his time. Tesla had generated ac current before Edison knew about charges. Markoni who got Nobel prize for inventing radio used all the ideas of Tesla. X-rays by Roentgen, RADAR by Watson-watt were all devised by Nikola Tesla.

There was almost nothing that Tesla did not do. First hydro electricity plant in Niagara falls, experiments with cryogenic engineering, transistors, radio wave recorder from outer space were all built by Tesla. Remote control, neon lightening, modern electric motor, earthquake machine are finest inventions from Tesla. He was a true genius.

However, most of his ideas and inventions were either copied, stolen or taken by somebody else. Tesla made a way to charge a house with electric lightening for electricity purpose but did not share it thinking somebody else will take it.

This incredible mind created revolution with his inventions. He was a future-thinker and his minds would run on any wavelengths. However, he died tragically in a hotel room and was found dead only after two days of his death in 1943.